


a life beyond the end

by getthisoff



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Strangers to Lovers, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 12:19:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18800224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/getthisoff/pseuds/getthisoff
Summary: It was supposed to be just another summer on his uncle’s farm– tend to the horses and help out where he can in exchange for endless days of sun.It was supposed to be just another summer, until a stranger arrives one day. The world continues to spin, but Johnny will never be the same.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first ever NCT fic! I haven't uploaded anything in a hot minute, and I figured what better way to make a comeback than to supply y'all with your yearly dosage of getthisoff angst? 
> 
> I'm really excited about this fic. I've been working on it for a very long time, and it’s a little different from what I used to write. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

**_Summer, 1988_ **

 

A mild breeze dances its way between tall grass, as windchimes sing in response. The air is thick with anticipation, humidity sticking to Johnny’s skin; a storm is approaching, set to hit in a few days. He would probably have to go out soon and make sure to tend to some of the horses, ensuring that they had enough to last them through the bad weather, he thought to himself belatedly.

 

Johnny sat on the porch bench overlooking the gravel path that lead out from the farm and on to the main road. To his right was a field of green and gold that stretched for miles and miles, moving against the wind. He sat and drank in the sight, book in hand as he basked in the anticipation of yet another summer on his uncle’s farm.

 

Dog-earring the relevant page of a well-loved book, he reached for the mug of hot coffee by his foot, only to stop short when his eyes caught on to something; a ghost in the periphery, a possible trick of the eye.

 

There, in the distance, was a lone figure walking down the road, making his way towards the gravel path which led to the farm which led to the farm house which led to––

 

Johnny quickly stood up, coffee forgotten, book sat limp on the bench. The song of the windchimes picked up as the wind suddenly took a turn. Taking one last measured look to properly ensure that the person– a man– was indeed headed his way, he got up, rapped his knuckles twice on the door behind him to alert the presence of a visitor, and began to make his way down the gravel path to meet the man halfway.

 

And if Johnny couldn’t help but feel a sudden sense of _something_ wash over him as he and the man began to approach one another, with muddled features clearing into kind eyes and sun kissed hair, he would not be able to say why. At least, not yet.

 


	2. a stranger appears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny looks to the sky. Dark clouds drift with increasing speed, as birds zip quickly, looking for refuge. Soon, lighting will crack and the heavens will open. The air thickens further.
> 
> The storm has come sooner than he anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: do take note of the years; there are time jumps in this chapter.

 

 

**_Winter, 2019_ **

 

The whistle of wind rang through the home, causing doors to shake and the roof to shiver. The structural integrity of the house held against mother nature’s onslaught. The tail end of winter was making its exit, but not without a fight. If he wasn’t so sure of his own handiwork that went into ensuring his home was sturdy enough, he would have been more worried of the potentiality of his entire physical world crashing down on him. 

 

Ironically, the crashing and the chaos only seemed to be limited to the thoughts in his mind. 

 

Johnny sat in his living room, bathed in the muted light that poured through the giant windows by him. His eyes are glassy behind his reading glasses, staring, unblinking as he looks into the fire before him, searching for words and answers that will not come. In his hand: a letter, crumpled nearly to obscurity by his clenched fists. He could recognise the looping writing anywhere. How many letters in this exact writing had he anticipated for? How many nights did he spend sleepless, staring at every curve of the letter ‘a’, every comma, every punctuation mark, trying to imagine the person at the other end writing them, envisioning his face, his hands? How many mornings did he start with a mad dash to his door, frantically flipping through letter after letter, in search of his name penned in this exact same writing? 

 

When Taeil had turned around before leaving Johnny’s home that evening, swiftly pushing said letter into his hands with a muttered apology, Johnny was left confused, watching his retreating figure as he piled himself into his car and drove off without looking back. It didn’t make sense until he looked down, and he saw, and his heart dropped further than he could fathom.

 

He could have recognised this writing anywhere, but today, this letter has come from a stranger. That is what it is now. 

 

Looking down one more time, just to be sure. Just to be certain. Because his heart might not bear it if he was wrong, and––

 

_ Dear Johnny,  _

 

Yes. There it is. The writing he could recognise anywhere. Writing he did not expect to see ever again.

  
  


 

* * *

 

  
  


**_Summer, 1988_ **

 

Johnny likes to think he’s pretty decent with words. 

 

He has no trouble finding his voice when asked a direct question in class. He’s part of the debate team. Most of the older aunties and uncles in town always compliment his eloquence. 

 

He’s pretty decent with words, but right now, given the questionable circumstances, words escape him, and he’s left standing and staring as the man comes closer and closer, his steps becoming slower as he attempts to gauge Johnny. 

 

Objectively, the man was handsome, and Johnny could appreciate that.  _ Objectively _ . Slightly taller than average (though not as tall as Johnny because  _ really, that would be a feat _ ), with dark brown hair, clear skin, a lean build with defined features and–

 

His eyes. It were his eyes that had Johnny rooted in his spot. The man was young, possibly around Johnny’s age, but his eyes spoke of a life that seemed to span far beyond his years. They were clear, albeit tired, and while they were kind, there was a dullness to them. It was unsetting, and Johnny was not sure what to make of it. This man was beautiful, and it felt like there was electricity shooting up Johnny’s neck the longer he looked at him. But he was also confused, and admittedly a little afraid. 

 

So he stood, and he waited, and he watched as the man came to a stop about 5 feet away from him. Close enough that Johnny could make out the indent in his cheek, far enough that Johnny could make a run for it if the man tried to pull anything off. 

 

A beat of silence. 

 

The wind picks up further, making it hard to hear when the man asks, “Does Moon Taeil live here?”

 

“Who are you?” Johnny asks, in lieu of a reply, shocked– this man knew his cousin?

 

Before an answer could be given, Johnny hears Taeil’s voice from the front door, calling out, asking Johnny who it was. 

 

Johnny stepped to the side, showing the man that he had previously been blocking from view in lieu of a reply. The confusion on Taeil’s face morphed, first into sheer disbelief, then into a calm blankness that gave nothing away. It was the face he showed when his father came home drunk, or when he’s told bad news. It makes a weight land in the pit of Johnny’s stomach, who’s gaze shifts back and forth between Taeil and the stranger. He watches the stranger, as relief settles in to his tired eyes, before a certain degree of blankness shrouds his features as well. Whatever these two seem to feel about seeing each other, they are trying very hard to hide it, and it unsettles Johnny further. He takes it as his cue to say something. 

 

“Hyung, do you know this man?” he calls out.

 

Taeil opens his mouth, about to reply, and closes it again. He looks into the house from where’s stood by the front door, looks back out to the front, and in his most neutral voice, simply calls out, “Come inside,” over the wind, before retreating back into the threshold. The instruction was directed at no one in particular, so Johnny assumes this means it’s extended to the man. He turns around to find the man a bit closer, looking at the house now with a hint of worry, his lips tight. 

 

Johnny is  _ so _ confused. 

 

“Right, you heard him. Please go ahead inside. I’ll be right behind you, just need to check on the horses real quick,” Johnny says to the man, gesturing to the house as he makes his way over to the stables behind. While it may be bad judgement to leave Taeil to deal with the man alone, Johnny figures that whatever past these two seem to share is a private matter, and Johnny would rather not intrude on whatever awkward reunion that was about to happen. 

 

He carried on walking, and turned around just in time to see the man look away from his own retreating figure and start walking up the porch steps. The sound of the front door opening and closing reaches Johnny as he gets to the stable doors. 

 

Johnny looks to the sky. Dark clouds drift with increasing speed, as birds zip quickly, looking for refuge. Soon, lighting will crack and the heavens will open. The air thickens further.

 

The storm has come sooner than he anticipated.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When Johnny finally enters the house, slightly dripping from the rain that has started to come in, he expects voices given their guest. Instead, he is greeted with silence. Taeil sits alone at the table, mending his riding boot.

 

“Who was that?” Johnny asks without preamble, ‘and where is he?”

 

Taeil doesn’t look up when he answers, “He’s in the guest room. He’s had a bit of a journey. Told him to rest up for the night and that I’d bring him some food later,”. 

 

Johnny doesn’t reply, and stays silent until Taeil looks up at him. Nothing is said between the two as Johnny raises an eyebrow, as if to say “ _ and?” _ . 

 

Taeil puts his mending aside. He gets up to put the tools away, and then makes to prepare a pot of tea. 

 

Johnny, never been one to be patient, clearly sees that his cousin is trying to stall, and asks again, this time more forcefully, “and who  _ is _ he?”

 

With a sigh, Taeil is quiet for a moment. Johnny expects he isn’t going to reply, and makes to leave the kitchen when Taeil begins to speak, back still to him. 

 

“He’s an old friend of mine, okay? I’m just as confused as you are, I haven’t seen him in nearly five years,” Taeil says as he begins to turn around, worry evident in his face.  

 

“We used to hang out sometimes. He used to live with his grandmother in the lake house at the edge of the farm. When his grandmother passed away, he just disappeared; abandoned his grandma’s things in the old lake house too. I assumed he just moved away to live with other family permanently. I wasn’t close enough with him to keep in touch, and I never heard from him again,”. The worry on Taeil’s face has grown, and has been heightened by a sadness that Johnny cannot help but recognise as regret. 

 

“How come I’d never seen him during my summer visits?”

 

“He wasn’t living here all the time; it was back and forth between here and  his parents house in the city if I’m not mistaken. He’d usually spend summer with his parents. This all also happened about a year before you started coming to the farm for summers, which is likely why you’ve never met him.”

 

Curiosity now sated for the most part, Johnny then asks what was playing at the forefront of his mind; “Why’s he here now then?” 

 

Taeil’s face shutters, and quietly, as if he doesn’t want anyone to hear, “I don’t know. He didn’t say. He still seems really shaken up. I think he walked all the way here from wherever he’s come from.”

 

“Walked?” Johnny asked incredulously. “That’s impossible. The next town is easily a three hour walk away,”. 

 

Taeil hums in agreement, and says, “I know. That’s why I’m a little worried. Whatever it is he’s trying to avoid or run away from, it must be bad enough to make him come all the way out here,” 

 

Johnny, not knowing what to say, simply nods in agreement. 

 

“Anyways,” Taeil adds with an air of finality, eager to bring the conversation to a close, “let’s just let him rest. We can interrogate him tomorrow or something. I’m gonna get started on dinner; my dad said he’ll probably only be back tomorrow night so it’s just us for now”. 

 

Johnny nods, and begins to make his way to his room. As he walks down the corridor, he passes by the guest room, and notices the door open ajar. Unable to help himself, he peeps inside to find the man fast asleep. His handsome features are settled, and he looks younger like this, Johnny remarks to himself. And sweeter too, he can’t help but think. 

 

As he makes to close the door, he spots the man’s backpack at the foot of the bed. On it, is a name embroidered. 

 

The man stirs in his sleep, and Johnny quickly closes the door before he wakes up and notices him creepily standing at the door watching him.

 

Johnny continues on to his room, the backpack with the embroidered name in white cursive contrasted on dark green canvas at the forefront of his mind. 

 

“Jaehyun,” he says out loud to himself when he reaches his own room.  _ Jaehyun, Jaehyun, Jaehyun, what are you running from? _

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

**_Winter, 2019_ **

 

_ “Dear Johnny, _

 

_ I suppose, for starters, I ought to apologise. ~~I reckon that’s the right thing to do.~~ ~~But~~ I know it ~~also~~ won’t matter. What good is my apology after all this time?  _

 

_ Nevertheless, I am sorry. You deserved to hear that a long time ago. I’m sorry I can only say it now,”.... _

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first two chapters in a day! I'm on a roll!

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on twitter @ahgactzens !


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